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Kingston offers a variety of nighttime entertainment. Most events are listed in the daily press, along with a host of other attractions, including colorful carnivals and festivals held island wide throughout the year. In nearly all the after-dark establishments of Kingston, foreign visitors are only about 3% of those in attendance. Most Kingston places, except for the bars in first-class hotels, are patronized mainly by locals.

The Performing Arts

Kingston is a leading cultural center of the West Indies. Notable theaters include Ward Theatre on North Parade Road, and the Little Theatre on Tom Redcam Drive near the National Stadium. Both stage local and imported plays and musicals, light opera, revues, Jamaican dance and choral groups, and pop concerts. Ticket prices vary. From downtown Kingston (Parade and Cross rds.), buses 90A and 90B run here.

The Club & Bar Schene

Within the relatively sedate premises of one of Kingston's best-established hotels, Mingles (in the Courtleigh Hotel, 85 Knutsford Blvd.) is a rich-looking - and richly popular - bar and disco. Sheathed with full-grained mahogany panels, with uniformed bartenders whose look might remind you of Jamaica during the era of Noel Coward, it's a clubby-looking but often rocking site known for a revolving combination of reggae, pop, soca (a danceable form of reggae), and Latino meringue. Folk here tend to flirt, talk, and gossip on Friday night, and dance, dance, dance on Saturday night. The bar here is open Monday through Friday 5pm to midnight and Saturday 5pm to 3am. There is no cover charge except Saturdays, when it's J$200 (US$4.60).

One of the hottest new venues after dark is Asylum, 69 Knutsford Blvd., where the program changes nightly. Some nights are devoted only to reggae music, other nights to various contests, sometimes to the old hits of the 70s and '80s. A crowd, mainly of locals in their 20s to 30s, flock here to enjoy the music, the dance, the entertainment, and even karaoke. It's very tropical and very happening, Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm to 2am, charging a cover ranging from J$200 to J$300 (US$4.60-US$6.90).

The Turntable Club, 118 Red Hills Rd. was richly involved with the emerging sounds of Motown and the early years of reggae. Today, it welcomes a high-energy but relatively conservative clientele into a sprawling purple-and-black room lined with portraits of the great rock-and-roll musicians who preceded Bob Marley. There's a half-moon-shaped dance floor that gets very crowded, and a long bar whose curved design was inspired by the arm of an old-fashioned record player. It's open Thursday to Saturday 9pm to around 2am. On Thursday nights the cover is J$320 (US$7.35); otherwise, entrance is free.

The open-air Carlos Cafe, 22 Belmont Rd., is all the rage with its flamingo-colored tones and Caribbean decor. There's a whimsical feel here, attracting a crowd of men and women in their 20s and 30s. You can also dine here-Mondays, crab is featured on the menu. On Friday it's a fish fry and karaoke. On any night something is happening, perhaps a show by Cuban salsa dancers. There's no cover, with a Red Stripe beer costing J$100 (US$2.30). Hours are Monday to Friday 5pm to 2am, Saturday 3pm to 2am.

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'Soca' is from Trinidad and Tobago

by Ryan from Florida

It is very informative article. But...

Quote "soca (a danceable form of reggae)"

Whoever wrote this article, don't make yourself a fool on the WWW. I will correct you on the musical genre called "Soca". Soca originated in Trinidad and Tobago. It is a combination of calypso and chutney music from trinidad, combined by the Blackman Family, led by Ras Shorty from Trinidad.

Please do more research..and stop looking like a "fool"(this ... [read more]

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